Why you should promote conflict in your team

Many leaders are scared when they hear the word?"conflict".

They immediately associate the word with hate, disrespect, office politics. Something to stay away from.

A few months ago, I worked with a leader and his large international team to overcome some issues that negatively impacted their performance and ability to work together.

At the beginning of our work, I interviewed the team with the intention to understand their point of view about the situation.

Among other things, I found something very interesting. Most of the team members had very?little interest to spark some fire?within the team. They were willing to uphold their beliefs and opinions. They were accommodating. Apparently, they thought this was a positive trait that could have helped to get things done.

Why? Because many teams are built on?harmony.

The problem with harmony is that is often artificial. When harmony is in place, it’s often because team members?don’t open up. They don’t say what they really think for fear of personal conflict, bad culture, lack of trust, or because they are not vulnerable enough.

On the other hand, I have seen teams built on hatred, competition, destructive arguments, and where the personal agenda was more important than the success of the team.

Effective leadership requires a?fine balance.

We need constructive and passionate conflicts. And this happens when team members don’t back down from?confrontation.

A positive conflict happens when every team member feels his contribution not just matters, but it’s pivotal for moving things forward and get results. When this happens, nothing goes unsaid and each idea and opinion is heard and well taken by the team, no matter if it’s pursued.

Not surprisingly, there is no positive and passionate debate if there is no trust in place.

But in order to foster positive conflict in an organization, leaders need to master a few things:

1. Make sure there is a high level of trust between the team members
2. Promote a culture that allows positive conflict to emerge instead of favoring harmony
3. Rewrite the rules of engagement, so conflict is accepted and becomes a new norm
4. Gently fan the flames in every meeting, in particular when you feel people are holding their opinions back
5. Give permission instead of suppressing conflict

In summary,?positive conflict?requires trust, vulnerability, permission culture, and the ability for the team members to be uncomfortable in having direct and challenging discussions.

But when there is a common goal for the team and everyone is really engaged and personally vested in team results, conflict is natural, welcomed, and necessary to build momentum.

The best leaders don’t look for harmony and complacency.?They build great teams by fostering positive and passionate conflict to get the most out of their work.

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